Episode 15 is the story of Jihae Watson, a Korean – Canadian mom, who as a young girl didn’t fully embrace her Korean heritage only to marry a blue eyed blonde American Marine, move to Arizona, have kids and realize the importance of celebrating her Korean heritage, food and language.

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We talk about:

Experiencing racism as a Korean Canadian growing up in Jewish & Korean community

Refusing to fully embrace Korean heritage as a child but realizing it is important to pass on the Korean language and culture to your multicultural kids

Falling in love and marrying an American Marine while dealing with parent’s expectations to marry a nice Korean boy instead

Learning how to cook Korean food as a new wife and a Korean Canadian mother of 4 multicultural kids

What people think when they see Jihae and her husband with their multicultural children

Teaching kids what it means to be different and more sensitive toward other people’s cultures as a Korean Canadian mother

Jihae Watson shares:

30:35 – If one of your friends brings their lunch and it’s something that they ate for dinner yesterday, and it smells different, do not ever comment on that. Don’t make fun of them, don’t call attention to that. It is not on us to make other people feel bad about their culture, and even though that happened to you, it is all the more reason to be sensitive and not be a jerk.

31:15 – Talk with your kids, have that open conversation and try to find anything in your community that helps them relate and feel like: ‘Oh, this is fun, this is cool. I’m a little different, and that’s a good thing.’

33:14 – If you speak badly about other people, your kids pick up on that. Just be mindful of what you’re saying and how you’re saying it. When you make it a bad thing, then your kids make it a bad thing, so just be careful of what your reaction is to multicultural things, people and experiences. When you’re open to it, then you can raise kids who are open to that as well.